A Force Balanced
by EvalynXIV
Summary: There are dark forces looming in every corner. When Weiss Schnee is forced to comfront these forces within herself, how will she adapt. Will she force herself to be something she isn't? Or will she find the strength to find her own place in the balance of things? (Thank you Texanredrose for the title! Had to edit the first chapter due to a mistake.)


A young woman stood at the center of a large circular room. Her hood keeping her features hidden as she bowed respectively to the 12 individuals which sat in a semi-circle before her. She was mostly still, gentle drumming of her fingers against the metal staff in her hands, the only tell of her anxiety, or excitement.

One man cleared his throat, his shaggy white hair seeming to defy gravity as he leaned forward slightly in his seat resting his arms in his knees, looking over the glasses perched in his nose as he started. "Padawan Ruby Rose, you are standing here today after completing your trials to find if you have what it takes to be the Jedi Knight you hold in such high regard," he said, his voice smooth, wise. The young woman nodded, peeking up from under her hood, silver eyes scanning the men and women of the council, she couldn't help the upward twitch if her lips as she did her best to contain her enthusiasm.

"That is true, Master Ozpin, I have been traini-" before she could finish, she clamped her mouth shut as a large, round fellow to her right let out a boisterous laugh. "Hold that thought, young one, what is that staff you have, that can't be the lightsaber you crafted as part of your training is it?" the man, whom she recognized as Master Port, stroked his beard curiously as he eyed the staff.

Ruby smiled, nodding enthusiastically, "It is! It's rather unique, I'd say!" she twirled the device in her hand before aiming the top of the staff to the floor, "However, I wouldn't call this a saber per say." Watching the surrounding masters, she gently pressed the switch towards the center of the staff, and in an instant a curved blade nearly half the length of the shaft poured from the device. A low hum of energy emitted from the pale green blade, "I call it a lightscythe."

Master Port let out another laugh, though Ruby could sense he meant no ill, "You can't be…" as he spoke she took a slow, deep breath, lightly kicking the head of the staff from the ground and twirling it behind her. She felt a calm wash over her as she twirled the scythe about her; first at her side with the blade barely missing the flooring by fractions of an inch, then she spun it on her person, the staff dancing around her as her body twisted with the motions. For several seconds she danced this way, twirling her unique weapon effortlessly, without fear or concern, with complete confidence and mastery of this weapon she called hers.

When she stopped moments later, she retracted the blade and returned to her initial stance, a respectful sentry before the council with her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Uhm…" Master Port started after the proficient display of this new style of lightweapon, "Right….well, please continue."

Ruby couldn't hold back her smile.

"YEAHA!" Weiss cried out as she was thrown back by an invisible force, clutching at her left eye as she slammed into the ground. The searing pain left her stunned, even more than the concussive blow shed received afterwards. "Get up you foolish girl!" her master yelled, stomping over to her before she felt invisible fingers squeeze around her throat, lifting her to her feet. She kept her eye cover, clenching her teeth as she glared daggers into the eyes of her master.

"You are WEAK, Weiss! If you continue to hold back progress I WILL be rid of you and find a more worthy pupil." He growled, squeezing her throat more before dropping his outstretched hand releasing the Force from her neck. She gasped, stumbling back but managing to keep her feet. She knew better than to protest, it would only lead to more pain…maybe even death. "I'm giving you one last chance, Apprentice…" he ground through his teeth, icy white eyes glaring back at her from under the drawn hood, "If you fail this time, I won't be so kind…"

Weiss kept her eyes locked on the man before her, taking her breaths in rigidly before finally finding the rage deep in her chest, a rage that she would harness in order to bring this man to his knees. She pulled herself upright, shoulders back, and chin held high as she lowered her hand from her freshly scarred face.

"Yes…Father."

Part 1

Black feline ears twitched erratically as the sounds of rage filled screaming and the crunching of metal echoed from the cargo area of the ship. She hadn't been told what happened, all she knew was what Weiss had screamed over the comms when she boarded the ship: "Belladonna! Take us to Coruscant!"

It wasn't difficult to tell that the apprentice was agitated, but to have Weiss tear up the inside her ship was kinda pushing it. Tapping her fingers against the console, she weighed her options: she so could suck it up and leave it, or she could give the cute little sith a reason to stop. Like, perhaps the impending doom of cracking the hull if she keeps pounding that damned cargo container against the walls! With several swift flicks, flips, and turns she had the ship on autopilot and darted for the cargo area.

"Damn you! You blasted arrogant bastard!" the white haired young woman screamed as she crunched one of the already mostly smashed containers with her impressive Force grip, "I'll show you I'm no weak willed fool!" she pulled her saber from it's holster, the blood red lightblade crackling angrily as it came forth. She raised over her head and made to swing on the walls when Blake called out.

"Weiss!" she snapped, her arms crossed as she stood in the entrance. The white haired girl didn't flinch instead turning on the pilot, fixing an glacial glare on her, her wound bleeding somewhat do to the over-activity. Blake's heart sank, but she did her best to keep her expression muted, "If you put a hole in the hull, we are both dead. So why don't you relax or something and not doom your mission before we even leave the atmosphere?"

The apprentice growled in response, but conceded, retracting the lightsaber and replacing it on her belt with a huff. When she turned away to clean up the mess, Blake couldn't help but smile, wondering briefly how Weiss could ever be anything like her master. However that smile quickly turned sour when she was drawn back to the bleeding wound on the young woman's face.

"You should really let me clean that.." She tried, slowly walking farther into the hold, her tail swaying with uncertainty. Blake had been charged by the current Sith Lord to cart his apprentice around, since he couldn't trust her to do so herself. She found herself slowly becoming attached though, and now more than ever it was starting to sink in that if she didn't start doing something, this could end poorly for them both. That, and what sort of monster could pit so many scars on such a young woman…

"It's fine… I don't need you to do things like that.." Weiss said quietly, lifting a broken container from it's sideways position and setting it upright. Now that she wasn't throwing a fit, Blake could see that the wound was bothering her by the way her fingers twitched. An unconscious desire to cover the slash, to nurse it, a side effect of the abuse she earned for showing any such weakness. The dark haired girl sighed herself, walking towards a capsule on the side of the room and opening it up.

Weiss eyed her quietly, Blake knew because she could hear her stiffen suddenly when she turned back around now holding some medical supplies. A smirk played at the pilots lips as she made her way to the apprentice. "I'll have none of that on my ship, mini-Sith," when she received a pointed glare at the mention of her size Blake held up her hands in surrender, "I'm sorry…but honestly, you opened it up, and if you don't get it treated it'll get infected and then you'll probably lose the eye." _Maybe._

The white haired apprentice eyed her suspiciously before sighing and giving a curt nod of approval. Blake, who waited patiently for Weiss to close her eyes for treatment, smiled slightly and for a split second she felt an overwhelming sense of affection as she gently scrubbed away the drying blood. She, not for the first time, was reminded how beautiful this apprentice was when she had a moment of peace. Blake realizing this for the umpteenth time since their meeting, felt something spark in her chest, and the desire to see this peace more permanently seeded itself within.

Lilac eyes scanned the cityscape, idly adjusting her dark orange scarf as she watches civilian vehicles go to and fro. A feeling of cool air washing over her makes the hair in the back of her neck stand on end, a whisper in the back of her mind drawing her attention to a certain shuttle passing. It didn't seem to be suspicious in anyway, however something felt very off about it. Yang Xiao Long had learned long ago that ignoring such chills, and more importantly ignoring the whisper of the Force, was not something she should ever do; for the cost of such ignorance was often far too high.

Her left hand twitched involuntarily before she clenched her fist and turned to the little spherical droid at her feet. It looked up at her from it's view of the cityscape and whirred curiously at her. Yang smiled before kneeling and patting it on its top, "She should be out shortly. Why don't we go meet her?" PN-33 chirped and hummed at her excitedly before rolling off towards the council chamber. The golden haired Jedi watched it for just a moment before glancing back at the window, the chill still crawling over her skin and whisper tickling at her mind. Making a mental note to check up on it at her earliest ability to do so she followed after PN-33.

Ruby was already waiting outside the council chamber when they duo arrived. Her hair notably changing, lacking the long braid she had before her meeting with the council. Yang smiled as she walked up receiving one in return as she reached pass the girl's right ear, fluffing out the hair a little bit, "Hmmm…..I think I'll miss the braid, but I like the new look," her eyes fell on the silvery orbs that were wide with expectation and pride. "You did well. Congratulations on your knighthood, Ruby."

In one flowed motion, the young knight threw her redish-brown cloak open and leapt on her blonde companion, grabbing her in a strong embrace, "Thank you, Master Xiao Long!" she cheered, interrupted by PN-33 letting out a displeased squeal, "And you too, Penny!" she amended before dropping from Yang's shoulders and wrapping her arms around the little droid.

As the droid and it's creator celebrated Ruby's victory, Yang couldn't help but watch them with pride in her heart, and for the briefest moment she saw the poor girl she met all those years ago with nothing but a tattered old cloak and a half built droid. She had watched as this young woman clawed her way out of purgatory, never wavering in her ideals, and coming out completely unscathed, "You are truly amazing.." She muttered, speaking just loud enough for the object of her pride to look up at her curiously.

"Master?" She asked quizzically, patting Penny absently once more before getting to her feet.

"Nothing, Ruby, "She said shaking her head dismissively as she turned around, "I'm no longer your Master, but I would like to have you follow me….I sensed something strange-"

"I'll follow, just lead the way." Ruby interrupted, already strapping her compacted staff to its holster on her lower back. Yang smirked slightly watching Ruby from the corner of her eye, seeing the determined set of the girl's lip, the unwavering loyalty in her eyes.

"Off we go then.." Yang nodded, before leading them towards the nearest lift.

 _The snow never seemed to stop. Weiss could feel the chill deep in her bones even with her robes wrapped tightly around her; it was excruciating and never ending, but she had no other choice. "Damn him…what in the galaxy could be so important that I need to be roaming around this forsaken icy wasteland." Weiss growled under her breath she was exhausted as she trudged through the thick sheets of snow, only vaguely aware of the faunus bounty hunter her father had hired to tag along._

" _I'm not to thrilled to be here myself, Micro-Sith," the hunter grumbled, to which Weiss immediately bristled and turned in her._

" _Listen you!" she yelled into the white void of the blizzard, and her shoulders slumped. She was suddenly alone._

" _Blake?"_

Weiss sighed as she trudged through the dust covered ruins of the ancient Sith temple. What she sought was at the very center, mounted to a shrine to harness the dark energy of the Force. Her mission required that she take the kybar crystal and return it to her father for use in a grander scheme to bring the galaxy to its knees.

A simple task really, were it not for the fact that she was directly below the Jedi Temple where the council and countless other masters and knights were currently residing. She sighed and momentarily pinched the bridge of her nose before proceeding deeper into the ruins. The communicator in her ear chirped briefly, signaling that Blake wished to make contact. "What do you want…" she growled impatiently.

Her companion scoffed on the other end before responding, "Well since you asked so nicely, I could really go for some bark tea, Micro-Sith."

A lonely winter wasteland trickled from Weiss' memory for the brief moment before she barked into the communicator, "What do you want, Blake!"

" _Hey, hey, loosen up. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright; you've been gone a while…"_

Weiss furrowed her brow at the tone of Blake's voice, "Are you worried about me? I'll have you know that I'm stronger than any Knight they have here, on my WORST day." She was confident in that. She knew for a fact she wasn't as weak as her Master pushed her to believe. She was strong enough to take any one of them right now.

"Is that so? Then perhaps I've come for no reason." A foreign, masculine voice came from within the darkness where the kybar crystal was currently housed, halting Weiss' thoughts as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

"Who is there!?" She yelled into the darkness. Partially hidden behind the pillar threshold of the main hall. She could sense the heavy evil of the shrine at the center, and it clouded her mind making it difficult to pin point the other body.

Blake was suddenly full alert on the other end, " _Weiss, is someone in there with you.._ "

The Sith apprentice held her breath before speaking very softly onto the communicator, "I'm not alone…"

 _Weiss looked as well as she could in the snow covered valley, there weren't any tracks, there was nothing but snow and ice and she couldn't possibly track with the blizzard whipping around her as it was. "Blake?! Blake where did you go?!" she cried out. Her throat felt raw from all the yelling, having to compensate for the howling winds had proven difficult, and she was growing weary._

 _Not far from her was a relatively large hill she could perhaps use to give her a better view of the surroundings. However, just as she was about to begin climbing the ground below her gave out, and she plummeted into the ice cave system below. She wasn't prepared, unfocused and tired from the trek through the blizzard above, and landed on her arm smashing her shoulder. "GAH! HNNGH…!" she yelped, wheezing as she struggled to pull air into her lungs. A loud rumbling in the depths of the of the cave pulled her attention from her pain. Slowly, dread washed over her as a giant pair of horns crept from within the darkness._

Weiss felt her stomach twist in knots as a man wearing robes blacker than the abyss, and eyes as red as blood stepped from the shadows beside the large kybar crystal. However it wasn't those that unnerved her, it was the long curved horns that jutted out from just below his hairline. "Hello, Weiss, you certainly took your time," he mused as he stepped farther into the dim light of the crystal.

She ignored his taunt, gripping the hilt of her lightsaber with white knuckles, "What are you doing here?" She demanded, it was difficult to keep herself steady, to sound firm, with old fear creeping up from the depths of her heart and wreaking havoc on her psyche.

"I'm here to complete a mission of my own," he said with a light hearted shrug.

"And what mission is that?"

He smirked, and she immediately felt like a fool for having stepped into whatever game he was playing at. "I'm here to destroy this crystal, and everyone in the temple above." He said with casual disregard as he reached under his cloak and pulled forth his own lightsaber.

"I can't let you do that," she said, bristling as he took a step forward, "My mission is to retrieve this for my master, I will not have you destroying it and ruining everything we have planned."

"'We'…?" the man questioned, raising a brow curiously. He then looked at his lightsaber with a quizzical expression on his face, as if his weapon was some foreign object. "I think you're confused…" Weiss gasped as a rush of wind staggered her half a step back, and before she could even process the motion the man was in her. Instinct was the only thing that saved her as she swung her saber upward, meeting his downward slash. As they locked blades he leaned in close to her, "Your mission was to die with the rest of the inferior Jedi." Before she could grind out a curse he planted his boot in her gut and kicked her away, forcing her to roll several feet before slamming into a pillar.

She was on her feet in an instant, rolling to the side just as he swung his saber in another downward arc, and she ran. She ran as fast as she could until she felt he was within range of her counter attack. Weiss knew how fast she was, but he was far faster and she would use that to her advantage. With a wide arc she swung her saber horizontally, aiming for his midsection as she threw her off-hand forward as he would dodge back, blasting him with as much Force Lightning as she could muster. But there was nothing. She had felt him on her back, right on top of her and then there was nothing.

Weiss, eyes went wide as realization dawned on her adrenaline fueled mind. She began to spin around only for the blade of his lightsaber to swipe diagonally across her back. It was shallow, he could have finished her then, but he hadn't. As she screamed out in agony she could vaguely hear him cackling like a mad man. This man was enjoying his little game, and Weiss hated him for it.

"You bastard…if you're going to kill me just get it over with. I don't have any interest in your games!" she yelled, she didn't mean any of it, Weiss would never resign herself like that, but she hoped it would buy her time.

"Oh, you WILL take part in this game," he said as he waved his saber about, mere inches from her ear, her shoulder. The sound of the energy blade making her skin crawl, "I want you to feel just how outclassed you are, Weiss." He stomped on her back now, grinding his heal into the slash across her back. Her eyes widened as a new wave of otherworldly pain left her seeing flashes in her vision. "How does it feel to be nothing but a pawn? Even to your own father." He grinned menacingly as she glared up at him.

" _Weiss!" Blake cried as she bolted into the large open chamber of the ice cave system._

 _The white haired apprentice had been stunned in fear as a large tusked beast lumbered towards her. Her lightsaber had scattered from her when she had landed in the room, and with her arm potentially broken the only thing she could do was stare at the beast as it came at her. However, when Blake had called out to her she immediately relaxed. That was a mistake._

 _Blake had given reason for the creature to feel threatened, and it responded with a blood-curdling roar. Weiss did her best to move away, to run, to give herself more space, but her body was weakened. She had yet to truly master the Force enough to strengthen herself and push beyond her normal limits. Weiss was useless as the beast lowered it's head to charge her. She stared on as the next few moments played before her minds eye. It would run her down, gore her, break her apart as if she were nothing, then scatter her across it's nest like dust in the wind._

 _However, Blake was not one to let her go down so easily. "Cover your eyes!" she heard Blake cry, immediately ducking her head just as a capsule erupted midair between the beast and Weiss; the room flooding with a blinding flash of light. The ice monster roared, but Weiss could faintly hear Blake charging in. She opened her eyes and was utterly shocked as the feline faunus pulled something from under her cloak and popped the top, chucking it into the beasts open maw. In the same moment Blake launched the grappling hook she attached to her arm when this whole venture had started, latching to the beasts horn as she flipped up on to the confused creatures face. She worked quickly now, wrapping it's mouth shut, ejecting the line from her wrist and launching herself into the air towards an awestruck Weiss._

 _Blake twisted her body in the air and landed on top of Weiss who shrieked only to be drowned out by an explosion which echoed through the chambers of the ice cave. Her companion, ever the show off, through the cloak over them just as the shrapnel of the creatures skull and flesh began raining down._

" _I'm sorry, there was a hole and….I'm so sorry, Weiss." Blake stammered and struggled to find the words before finally finding that apology. The faunus had apparently been searching for a way out just as long as Weiss had been searching for her. Now they were together and Blake was a mess trying to examine the Sith apprentices injuries. The Sith, someone who should want nothing more then to rip the literal soul out of this person who had nearly had her killed, let out a full blown laugh. One that left the smartass Blake with a look of utter shock and total disbelief, "Weiss?" She asked hesitantly._

 _Weiss wiped tears that had started to stream down her cheeks as she tried to calm down, "I was so scared when you vanished. I thought I was dead and now…" she half giggled and opened her eyes to look into Blake's, her lip quivering slightly, "I'm just so relieved you're ok. I owe you so much…"_

Weiss tightened her jaw, and for a fleeting moment she thought she might see Blake charge into the room and save her just a she had many times before. However, with that very thought she knew how deeply seeded her weakness was. To rely on the strength of another woman every step of the way. She ignored the sting of tears in her eyes, the crack in her heart that formed at the idea of Blake abandoning her, and clenching her fist around the grip of her saber. She would need to be quick, but she wouldn't let this end without a fight.

As he was about to speak, perhaps to drill even more darkness and despair into her before dealing the final blow, she threw a pulse of force energy into the ground below her, throwing a large amount of dust into the air and catching him off guard. It was just enough, his foot coming off her just barely, but giving her enough space to maneuver. She twisted herself around, sweeping her saber at him in a wide arc to knock him back, when she felt her blade collide with him she twisted farther and threw her other hand at him as lighting spilled from her fingertips.

The man cried out in agony, but it didn't last. She felt her lightsaber knocked aside and then searing hot pain washed over her from her left side and she started to cried out only for it to die on her lips as he plunged his blade into her chest. He leaned in, and she could see the damage she had done as the edges of her vision began to close in and darken. His red eyes glowed with unholy fury, a fresh, horrendous streak of cracked and bleeding wounds marred the right side of his face, a permanent sneer on his lip as he growled down at her. "You'll have company soon…" he said as he wrenched the blade from her body and raised it to deal the final blow.

'I'm sorry, Blake…'

And the world went black…


End file.
